João Pedro Junqueira de Jesus (born 26 September 2001), also known as João Pedro, is a Brazilian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a forward for club

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

and the Brazil national team.

Early and personal life

João Pedro was born in

Ribeirão Preto Ribeirão Preto (Portuguese pronunciation: Help:IPA/Portuguese, �ibejˈɾɐ̃w ˈpɾetu is a city and a metropolitan area located in the northeastern region of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state, Brazil. Ribeirão Preto is the eighth-la ...

, São Paulo to parents Flavia Junqueira and José João de Jesus, more commonly known as Chicão, a professional footballer for

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

. Chicão was jailed for sixteen years in 2002, serving eight, for being an accessory to murder. By the time of Chicão's imprisonment, he and Junqueira had separated.

Club career

Fluminense

João Pedro joined the youth system of Fluminense, and his mother moved with him to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. As he moved through the club's academy, he switched from being a defensive midfielder to an attacking midfielder, and then a striker. On 19 October 2018, before he had even made his senior debut,

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

reached an agreement on a deal to sign João Pedro in January 2020 on a five-year contract. On 28 March 2019, João Pedro made his senior debut for Fluminense as a stoppage-time substitute in a 2–1 loss to arch-rivals

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

in the

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

. A month later on 29 April, he made his league debut as a late substitute in the 1–0 loss to

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

. He then proceeded to fire seven goals in his next four games, including a hat trick in a 4–1

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...

victory against

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the other ...

Watford

On 30 October 2019, it was announced that he had received his UK work permit and would sign for Watford in January 2020. Initially delayed by the world-wide Covid shutdowns, Pedro scored his first goal for Watford in a 1–0 win over

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

on 26 September 2020, his 19th birthday. On 16 October 2020, He scored a long-range goal in a win over

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. Pedro scored his first Premier League goal against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

on 20 November 2021. He dedicated the goal to his late stepfather, Carlos Junior. On 15 January 2022, he scored the equaliser against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

in the 88th minute. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.

Brighton and Hove Albion

On 5 May 2023, Premier League side

confirmed the acquisition of Pedro from Watford, with the transfer fee undisclosed, but reported to be in the region of a club-record £30 million fee. He made his debut in the opening game of the season on 12 August, starting the match and later scoring from the spot in the 4–1 home win over Premier League newcomers

. Pedro scored Brighton's first ever European goals on 21 September, netting two from the spot in the eventual 3–2 home

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

loss against Greek champions

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

. Pedro finished the Europa League group stage as the outright top scorer with six goals in six games, including a late winner in the final match, as Brighton topped their group to qualify for the last 16. On 24 August 2024, Pedro scored the winning goal in stoppage time of a 2–1 victory over Manchester United. On 19 April 2025, he was sent off for flicking his hand into

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

defender Nathan Collins' face during a 4–2 loss and was given a three game ban for violent conduct. On 23 May 2025, the club announced Pedro had been dropped from the squad to play

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

over a training ground incident.

International career

On 19 August 2023, Pedro was called up for the

Brazil Olympic football team The Brazil national under-23 football team () represents Brazil in international football competitions during Olympic Games and Pan American Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team i ...

. Pedro would make his Brazil debut as an 84th minute substitute in a 1–0 loss against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. Three months later on 6 November, Pedro was called up to the Brazil senior team for the first time. On 16 November, Pedro would make his debut for the ''Seleção'' after coming on as a substitute for the injured

Vinícius Júnior Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior (; born 12 July 2000), commonly known as Vinícius Júnior or Vini Jr., is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for La Liga ...

at the 27th-minute mark in a 2–1 loss to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

João Pedro
at Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joao Pedro 2001 births Living people Footballers from Ribeirão Preto Brazilian men's footballers Brazil men's international footballers Brazil men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards Fluminense FC players Watford F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Premier League players English Football League players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen